The ships at Leizhou Station are not only small in tonnage, mixed in shape, and in poor condition, but the quality of the personnel is also mixed: many of them are small groups of pirates who lost their jobs after the Lingao Navy took control of the strait, and deserters of officers and soldiers. There is also Shui Yong who was hired by Zhu An in the past. Although there has been no trouble under the Leizhou Station's relatively good remuneration and the Navy's trade escort system, it has always been a hidden danger.
As for the Navy itself, it certainly has thoughts on a fleet that is completely independent of the Navy's command system. At relevant meetings, it has been proposed to "strengthen the unified management of maritime vessels."
However, unifying the two fleets of Guangzhou and Leizhou under the command of the Navy and completely under the control of the Navy will make the command system too complicated. Various departments in Lingao do not think that to call the ships, just call the Navy Department and the Navy Department will transport them. Just arrange the shipping date. But it is very inconvenient for departments in other places.
In the early days, Guangzhou Station decided to establish Gaoguang Shipping Company because the procedures for using ships were cumbersome. At that time, when you needed to use a ship, you had to first call Lingao and go through the navy's command system and then go through the ship transfer procedures. Not only were there many links and wasted time, but the operation was also very rigid - the sailors on the ship were not subject to the control of the Guangzhou Station. Direct command, if there is a slight change, you have to report to Lingao again to change the order, which is completely unsuitable for commercial trade. In the end, stations stationed abroad had to be authorized to organize their own transport fleets.
The combination of these factors ultimately prompted the Executive Committee to decide to reform the original maritime shipping system. A shipping company was formally established. This shipping company plans to adopt a joint-stock system, with the Senate holding 51% of the shares, and the remainder is preparing to raise shares from indigenous and naturalized people. Of course, Qiwei is the first shareholder. They originally had shares in Gaoguang Shipping Company.
The newly established shipping company will undertake all the shipping operations of the Crossing Group on the Guangdong ocean. Also includes trade shipping to Vietnam. The company will be headquartered in Hong Kong and set up shipping offices in Lingao, Xuwen, Qiongshan, Guangzhou and Sanya. In the future, shipping agencies will be established in all counties in Hainan Island and coastal areas of Guangdong. Integrate the fleets under the original Guangzhou Station and Leizhou Station. At the same time, the navy also transferred some ships that were not suitable for combat service to shipping companies, including the five-masted ship originally purchased from Haijia.
The shipping company operates independently in the transportation business, and its establishment is under the dual leadership of the Postal Transportation Commission and the Navy - similar to the British merchant marine reserve system. All personnel of the shipping company are included in the naval reserve, and senior seamen are awarded the rank of naval reserve officer. A certain amount of time must be allocated for military training and exercises every year.
After the end of the second anti-encirclement and suppression campaign, we took advantage of the gap period before the signing of the peace treaty. The Executive Committee entrusted the Navy, the General Administration of Political Security, and the Postal and Transportation Commission to conduct a three-month large-scale training for Leizhou Shipping Company and Gaoguang Shipping Company. All indigenous personnel underwent political review and study. The unreliable personnel among them were purged: some were transferred to work in other places, and a few who were notorious and had blood debts were imprisoned in labor camps. The remaining personnel underwent a major change: some young and strong pirates and sailors were added to the navy, and some sailors eliminated by the navy who were older, injured, and not suitable for maritime operations were transferred to the shipping industry. company. Ships owned by shipping companies have also been partially cleaned and renovated, and ships that are too small have been eliminated. From the perspective of usage efficiency, large ships are more economical to use than small ships.
Xintei Shipping Company officially changed its name to "Dabo Shipping Company". And Zhang Dascara returned to Leizhou after several months of study class life in Lingao. After receiving a comprehensive "re-education", this old sea dog who used to make a living has become completely determined to become a "minister of the dragon". He attended a ceremony in Lingao and accepted the rank of second lieutenant in the Navy Reserve. He has resumed his duties as captain - he will mainly sail on the trade route with Vietnam, which is also the route he is most familiar with.
Zhang Dascara walked into a house on Hai'an Street that was originally a sugar merchant's residence. It has been converted into the residence of the Vietnam Trading Company and the Xuwen office of Dabo Shipping Company. Craftsmen were coming in and out of the yard, and there were tinkles everywhere. There was a clanking sound, and various building materials were scattered all over the floor. Remodeling works are underway here.
The person he is looking for is Yan Maoda - currently Yan Maoda is also the director of the Xuwen Representative Office of Dabo Shipping. Yan Maoda told him the task: he would leave tomorrow and send several elders and a ship of goods to Vietnam.
"In addition to myself, there are several other elders."
In addition to Yan Maoda, who is going to check out the layout, and Bei Kai, who is planning to stay in Vietnam, there are also several veterans of the military, construction companies and remote exploration teams who are preparing to go to Vietnam. They went to the front station to build the Hongji Armed Trading Station.
"Understood, little man - I will deliver the elders safely." Zhang Dascar said confidently, "Not to mention the new boat, even if it is a fishing boat, I can still keep the elders safe."
"Well, I know you have this ability." Yan Maoda smiled, "You will send us to Haiyang first, and then from Haiyang to Hongji. Are there any difficulties along the way?"
"No." Zhang Dascara looked very confident, "How many days are you planning to go? I can arrange to stock up on water, rice and vegetables on the boat."
"Bring as much as you can. It will take a long time this time." Yan Maoda said, "This voyage to Vietnam is not like buying, selling and trafficking goods in the past. It is an important task related to a great cause. You have to spend Be extremely diligent and prepare thoroughly."
"Yes!" Zhang Dascara immediately became excited when he heard that this trip to sea was of great significance. Since you want to follow the dragon, you must make meritorious deeds, and you cannot end up with hard work. For a moment, I didn’t know how to express my determination, and finally I only managed to say, “Please look at me, Lao Zhang!”
Zhang Dascara's ship was a three-masted ship with an original displacement of about 350 tons. After being transformed by the shipyard, it was specially used as an armed trading ship in Southeast Asia and the coastal areas of the continent. Displacement increased to 4oo tons. The ship was newly equipped with 6 48-pound Caron cannons and a typewriter. It's enough to scare ordinary small groups of pirates. A low stern tower was built at the stern of the ship, which was used as a residence for the steering, command, senior seamen, and VIPs accompanying the ship. Yan Maoda and Bei Kai live here. Ship name: "Zhennan".
Zhang Dascara arranged for people to load the ship overnight: not only enough food and water for 30 days, but also a large amount of goods for trade - the voyage itself also had the purpose of delivering goods to local agents.
In addition to the sailors, another 20 sailors were sent to the ship to serve as armed guards, and several escorts from the Leizhou branch of Qiwei Escort Bureau served as personal guards.
The Zhennan set sail and the journey across the Beibu Gulf was not smooth. Due to the wind direction, the route had to be very tortuous. It took almost four days to arrive at Hai Duong Port in Vietnam.
Leizhou Station's trade with Vietnam is very impressive. However, because of issues related to foreign policy, they did not open up a large business. They only opened a trading warehouse in Haiyang Port in the name of Dachang Rice Store, a company they had a stake in Leizhou, selling sugar and various groceries to local merchants. The imported goods include rice, high-quality wood and coal - there are a small number of small coal kilns in this area. In Haiyang, their biggest trading partner was Vo Ngoc Giap. This large landowner in North Vietnam continued to sell rice to them as if he had endless rice. Later, because the demand in Lingao was too great, Vo Ngoc Giap's stewards said they had no time to pound the rice, and now they are exporting dry grain directly.
There is a Chinese merchant street near Haiyang Pier, where a large number of merchants from the Ming Dynasty gather, selling all kinds of groceries from China and Southeast Asia. Dachang Warehouse is located on this street.
Judging from the street view and the pedestrians on the road, this place is very similar to the small coastal counties of the Ming Dynasty. Even what I hear in my ears are various dialects of the Ming Dynasty. Especially Cantonese, Hokkien and Hakka are the majority. Yan Maoda and Bei Kai also saw several small local guild halls on the way. It can be seen that this place is deeply penetrated by the Chinese.
Yan Maoda thought this was a force that could be used. Once Vietnam began to be fully conquered, these Ming Dynasty merchants and craftsmen who had settled in Vietnam for many years and were familiar with local customs and customs were an effective auxiliary force in maintaining stability. But now these Chinese are not reliable for the time being - not only unreliable, but also potentially dangerous. Dachang Warehouse has complained to him many times - the Chinese businessmen in the local area have a strong regional color, and they only have fellow villagers in their minds, not compatriots. Not only did they overtly and covertly squeeze out and suppress business rivals, but from time to time they would also collude with local officials and bandits to harm their compatriots.
As a brand-new outsider, Dachang has certainly been exposed to open and covert attacks. Fortunately, they are strong and can't be defeated by ordinary business tricks. Their cooperative relationship with Wu Yujia, the local big landowner and touba, makes other people dare not make casual attempts. Second-rate.
A group of people came to the warehouse. The warehouse is surrounded by high walls and deep courtyards, and is tightly guarded. The officials of the Northern Li Dynasty only collect money and never care about local security. The merchants have to protect themselves. Dachang Warehouse sells and stores large quantities of sugar and rice, and there is a risk of arson if you are not careful.
The local shopkeeper is called Zhu Fuyuan, who is the brother of Zhu Fusheng, the owner of Dachang Rice Shop. His family is very poor. He originally ran errands for Ming merchants in Haiyang to make a living. He can speak very good Vietnamese and several dialects. After Yan Maoda's investigation, he found out that he was already married in Xuwen, with a wife and children, and he was a decent man. The whole family relied on the dozen or so taels of silver he earned from Vietnam every year, and their life was very difficult. Yan Maoda recruited him as the storekeeper of the warehouse. Not only was he well-paid, but he also often used small favors to win over his family. This person soon became obsessed with the Time Travel Group.
